Increasingly, as communication technologies improve, long distance travel becomes more affordable and the economies of the world have become more globalized, contact between people who have different native languages has increased. However, as contact between people who speak different native languages increase, new communication difficulties can arise. Even when both persons can communicate in one language, problems can arise. One such problem is that it may be difficult to determine how a person's name is pronounced merely by reading the name because different languages can have different pronunciation rules for a given spelling. In situations such as business meetings, conferences, interviews, and the like, mispronouncing a person's name can be embarrassing. Conversely, providing a correct pronunciation of a person's name can be a sign of respect. This is particularly true when the person's name is not necessarily easy to pronounce for someone who does not speak that person's native tongue.
Part of the problem, as discussed above, is that different languages do not necessarily follow the same pronunciation rules for written texts. For example, a native English speaker may be able to read the name of a person from China, Germany, or France, to name a few examples, but unless that person is aware of the differing pronunciation rules between the different countries, it may still be difficult for the native English speaker to correctly pronounce the other person's name. To further complicate matters, names that might be common in one language can be pronounced differently in another language, despite having an identical spelling. Furthermore, knowing all of the pronunciation rules may not lead a correct pronunciation of a name that is pronounced differently from what might be expected by following a language's pronunciation rules. What is needed, then, is a way to provide an indication of the correct pronunciation of a name.
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